By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Speed bumps will be installed at the intersection near Isabella High School.

The Chilton County Commission unanimously approved the instillation during a meeting on Oct. 23 in response to IHS Principal Ricky Porter’s concerns about student safety.

Commissioner Joe Headley had brought the concerns to the Commission in previous meetings.

A public hearing was held during the Oct. 23 meeting. No one spoke in opposition of the installation. An audience member said those who have children attending the school would appreciate having the speed bumps installed.

Commissioner Joseph Parnell expressed concern that there would still be community opposition from those who might not have heard about the meeting.

“That school is just dangerously close to the road,” County Engineer Tony Wearren said.

“It’s the only school we’ve got that is really like that,” Commission Chair Allen Caton said.

Commissioner Jimmie Hardee said he had talked to several community members on the issue.

“It is dangerous,” Parnell said.

Headley suggested meeting with the principal to discuss for the best placement of the speed bumps. The Commission discussed placing them approaching the stop sign on two of the intersecting roads.

A commissioner asked if the speed bumps would be permanent once they were installed.

Wearren said the rubber speed bumps could be installed instead of the cement ones. The Commission did not voice a preference.

Roadways continued to be a topic throughout the meeting.

The Commission tabled a vote to close the south end of County Road 523, which would cut off access to Alabama Highway 22.

Wearren said the request was in response to potential safety concerns by the Alabama Department of Transportation.

“The road will remain a county maintained road,” Wearren said. “It will just become a dead-end road.”

The Commission unanimously approved holding a public meeting on the closing. Letters will be sent out to property owners on the road, and a public meeting will be held during the first Commission meeting in December.

Hardee said he had talked to several community members on the issue, and only one person he talked to totally opposed the closure.

No Thru Truck signs for a section of County Road 51 near Alabama Highway 145 were unanimously approved to keep logging trucks from using it as a pass through. The Commission also unanimously approved lowering the speed limit on this section to 35.

Also during the meeting, the Commission:

• Determined to review board members for the regional Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Board.
• Appointed Billy Singleton to the Chilton County 150th Celebration committee. Caton said he would also help anyway he could.
• Listened to concerns about the condition of County Road 768. Since the road is not officially a county road and has never meet the required specifications, the road is not maintained by the county. Hardee encouraged the landowner to talk to the developer of the lot who put in the road to see if he would upgrade it.